XDA News Articles

Just a short time ago we brought you news that the Acro S was rooted. As the only Android phone out there that can swim, that's great news. However, that is not all that developers had in store. With the device rooted, developers could get started on creating the things that make XDA go 'round, including ROMs, kernels, hacks, mods, and others. As a result, the Sony Xperia Acro S now has CyanogenMod 9. Not impressed? Okay, it also received...

For those who love to receive updates to their mobile devices, the Telus, Bell and Rogers versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III (SGS-I747M) are currently getting a maintenance OTA update from Samsung. The update purportedly brings improved stability, bug fixes, better battery life, and screen brightness adjustments available via the notification bar. The baseband is I747MVLLH1 with the OS Build being IMM76D.I747MVLALH1 (Android 4.0.4). There is currently no word on if the AT&T version will be receiving an OTA or not....

A few days ago, we reported on the Motorola Droid impressively receiving a working Jelly Bean ROM. The Droid's GSM successor, the Motorola Milestone 2 has now followed suit and been given a number of recent updates in the form of CyanogenMod 9 and CyanogenMod 10. XDA Senior Member tezet started an Alpha version of CyanogenMod 9 several months ago in order to give users a taste of CM9 on their Milestone 2. Though labelled an alpha build, a large number of the standard...

Way back in 2009, HTC released their third Android smartphone, the HTC Hero. The device shipped with Android 1.5 (Cupcake) or 2.1 (Eclair). Yes, that's how long ago it was! In it's day, it was a very popular device here on XDA, attracting a good number of developers. But as with all older devices, it has since slipped by the wayside and has become somewhat forgotten. For most people, that is. Within the last few months, both the CDMA and...

While running CyanogenMod on a CDMA device has many advantages, one glaring disadvantage is the ability to update your PRL (Preferred Roaming List) or data profile, which are only available via stock ROMs. Often times if you need to run a GPS fix or update your PRL, you need to backup your CM9 install, restore to a previous stock ROM, do the ROM dance, run the desired process, dance a jig, restore to CM9 install, and hope for the best....

To all Samsung Galaxy R GT-I9203 users waiting to get official ICS on their device, we've got news for you! The ICS update was recently spotted on SamMobile. Although the OTA may be pushed out to your devices very soon, those who can't wait can download and install it manually right away. This is the European I9103XXLQ9 Update and it was spotted here on XDA by Recognized Contributor ardatdat. As is the case with every official Samsung ROM, this one is also TouchWiz...

Since the announcement from Asus that Jelly Bean would be bestowed upon its Transformer series all the way back to the original Transformer, the development scene for the TF101 has been booming with activity. There have been new ROMs, new patches, and an overall renewed sense that this device, while being over-powered by its younger brothers, still has quite a bit of life left in it. The work of XDA Forum Member RaymanFX manifests yet again in this sub-forum, and this time...

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has recently received the ICS update, and now its little sibling can join in the family fun. The Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi now has an update to ICS available via KIES for those who have chosen to remain stock. For those who prefer to take full control of their device, XDA Senior Member safariking has put together a package that you can flash via ODIN. The package has been rooted, deodexed, and zipaligned for your...

The HTC Thunderbolt was one of the first LTE devices on Verizon, but quickly faded into the background as the HTC Rezound was launched. HTC however stated via Facebook that the Thunderbolt would be receiving an ICS update by the end of August, along with all of the other promised devices, though we're coming up on the end of the month, with still no official date of release. Never fear though as leaks are bound to happen, and according to...

There are many different browsers available for your phone. Some people prefer stock, whereas others swear by third party browsers. What if you want a stock-like browser with additional features? Well XDA Recognized Developer appelflap has provided us with a great application that meets these desires. In this video TK reviews the ICS Browser+ application. He shows the options of the application and shows how the application looks and works. TK compares this application to the standard browser on the...

Sony has been one of the most proactive handset manufacturers as of late in releasing updates to their Android handsets, as we reported earlier this year. Now they're rolling out firmware updates for the Xperia arc, Xperia arc S, Xperia neo, Xperia neo V, Xperia mini, Xperia pro, Xperia active and Xperia ray beginning this week. They had this to say on their Xperia Blog: Starting from this week, Xperia arc, Xperia arc S, Xperia neo, Xperia neo V, Xperia mini, Xperia pro, Xperia...

There was a lot of great news published on the XDA Portal this week, and in case you missed it or you prefer your news read to to by a man with a beard, Jordan is here to help you with that. In perhaps the most epic news of this week, Jordan talks about what happened to the Verizon variant of the Samsung Galaxy S III. What happened to it? Oh, that's right it got an unlocked bootloader! Also covered...

A few weeks ago, we reported on HTC's disappointing decision not to provide an official Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Desire HD. Not even a petition with over 15,000 signatures was enough to persuade them to change their mind. It did however, force them to release an official statement: We’ve heard your feedback on our decision not to update the HTC Desire HD to Android 4.0. We completely understand that this is a controversial decision. For more background, due to...

Smartphone cameras have come a long way---from being mere spec entries in the mid 2000s, to the serious point-and-shoot competitors of today. While most smartphones today come equipped with pretty decent cameras for point-and-shoot purposes, there is often room for improvement. If you've got a Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray and want to add features like fast photo capture and smooth HD video recording with high quality stereo sound, we've got a mod for you. XDA Senior Member Rizal Lovins has taken MooDeD Camera...

USB On The Go is an incredibly useful feature that opens up a myriad of new ways to make use of your device, whether its taking advantage of external storage or USB peripherals. It's something that HTC Sensation owners have unfortunately been deprived of for some time. For a device to support USB OTG, the function must be enabled in the kernel running on that device. This was sadly not the case in HTC's stock kernels. In true XDA style,...

HTC made a promises to their customers that the One series line up wouldn't be neglected like their other devices have been. So far, they've been keeping up with their word, as the One series devices have gotten plenty of updates and have been promised Jelly Bean. Of course, it's perfectly normal to remain skeptical. Until official Jelly Bean release, though, it's up to developers to keep the firmware fresh. And for Sense phones, it doesn't get much more fresh...

Great news, CM lovers: After months of coding and tweaking, the CyanogenMod team has released the stable version of ICS-based CyanogenMod 9 for all supported devices on the official CM mirror network. The nightly and release candidate CM9 builds have been around for a while and were already quite stable, but this step marks the final release of the ICS-based builds. Here is a list of devices currently gettign CyanogenMod 9: Samsung: Google Galaxy Nexus International (maguro) Google Galaxy Nexus...

Very recently, we brought you news that the EVO 3D finally got an update to Ice Cream Sandwich. However, as Member Advocate Admin egzthunder1 stated in his article linked above, the update is far from satisfactory. Most reports agree that the update felt more like a consolation prize and less like something Sprint and HTC worked hard on. While ROM developers have been releasing stuff that is on par---and in many cases much better---than what Sprint and HTC released, those...

Late last year, we added the Hardware Hacking forum to help spawn discussion between developers and users in hacking the latest hardware platforms. Over the past year, the tech world has seen a number of new hardware platforms enter the marketplace like the Kickstarter project Equismo Smart TV and the Raspberry Pi. All of these provide a number of advantages including portability and hackability. The Raspberry Pi has stood out as a great option for many different uses, from being...

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